VALLETTA: At a European Union (EU) summit in Malta on Friday, leaders of various countries of the EU expressed their reservations about US president Donald Trump and said that he should not meddle in affairs of the EU.
The 28 countries showed unity by backing a plan to curb mass migration from Libya by facilitating the north African state´s coastguard to stop boats making the dangerous crossing to Italy.
However, the actions of the new Trump administration overshadowed the talks, with French President Francois Hollande slamming Trump´s “unacceptable” comments backing Britain´s decision to leave the EU.
EU leaders were of the opinion that they needed to unite in face of an increasingly uncertain future in the global arena.
While talking to media, French President Francois Holland said, “It is unacceptable that there should be, through a certain number of statements by the president of the United States, pressure on what Europe should or should not be.”
Other leaders said that while they wanted to maintain transatlantic ties they also had to be realistic in face of a president who has backed further exits from the EU and called NATO “obsolete”.
Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, the summit’s host, said, “Obviously there was some concern on some decisions taken, but there was still a sense we need to engage with the US.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Hollande all briefed their colleagues on their contacts with Trump, with May saying that Trump was “100 percent committed” to the NATO alliance.
Rhetoric had run high in the lead-up to the meeting with EU President Donald Tusk putting Trump in the same bracket of threats to the EU, which also included Russia, China and religious extremism.
However, Tusk he toned down his comments on Friday, saying that US ties were the EU´s “highest political priority”, but still stressed that Europeans would have to stand on their own feet now.
“We know that today we have no other option than to regain confidence in our own strength,” Tusk added.
Trump´s ban on arrivals from seven mainly Muslim countries has caused particular concern in Europe, with Austria´s Chancellor Christian Kern saying it was “highly problematic.”